U of M Standardized Patient Program FAQ

What is a Standardized Patient?
A standardized patient or SP is an individual trained to portray a specific patient case in a consistent manner. During an interaction with a student, the SP presents the case history in response to questioning by the student and/or undergoes physical examinations at the student's direction. Each SP encounter is designed to assess skills appropriate to both the SP’s and the student's level of training.

What is a Standardized Patient Instructor?
A Standardized Patient Instructor (SPI) holds the same responsibilities of learning the role and evaluating the students’ performance as does the Standardized Patient, but adds a piece by providing constructive feedback from the patient’s point of view.

How is this different from acting?
This work has nothing to do with finding dramatic moments or playing to an audience. It has everything to do with disciplining yourself within the needs of the case and exam. It may be appropriate for you to appear anxious, irritable, or confused during an interview if that is part of the training scenario. When working as an SPI it is important that you portray the case the exactly the same way for every student who interviews you.

Do the medical students know we are not real patients?
Yes, the students are aware that you are SPIs and are told to proceed just as they would with real patients while doing their interviews and physical examinations.

Why do you need Standardized Patient Instructors? I thought medical students learned on real patients?
U of M students do work with real patients in supervised clinical experiences. However, SPIs provide a safe and controlled learning environment in preparation for a real patient encounter. A large number of students can consecutively interview an SPI and each time the SPI can behave as though it were the first time in the clinic for the same complaint. Thus, every student gets the chance to demonstrate his/her clinical skills in the same situation. It makes it a fair exam and learning experience for everyone.

How do I know what to say when the medical student interviews me?
You will be carefully trained to portray a specific patient. You will learn the complete medical history, using your own history whenever possible. As the patient, you will be able to tell the student details about your life such as your work, family, and hobbies. You will be trained to portray the patient’s appropriate emotional state. For cases requiring a physical exam you will know how to move as that patient would and also simulate findings while being examined. You will also be trained to give feedback after being interviewed or examined, allowing the student to hear constructive feedback from the patient he/she just interviewed or examined.

Will I undergo a physical exam or have to remove my clothing?
For patient cases that require no physical examination, SPIs wear street clothes. If the students are expected to perform a physical examination, you may be required to wear a hospital gown. The cases that require these physical examinations are clearly outlined for SPIs prior to their agreement to participate in them.

Is it safe?
Yes. There is no reason for anyone to do anything that might be harmful. The examinations are very basic and do not cause any harm to the patient. All encounters are videotaped and most interactions are observed as they happen, in part for the safety and comfort of the SPI.

Do I have to decide whether or not the student passes?
No. Part of your job as an SPI is to record the events of the encounters on a checklist for the purpose of scoring the students. You are also asked to give verbal and written feedback to the students on their interpersonal skills from your perspective as the patient. Faculty ultimately decides whether or not the student passed the exercise.

How much does the job pay?
We pay $ 12.00 per hour for the training of cases and most cases start at $20.00 per hour for the actual interview. Some cases pay per student depending on the case and the involvement of the SPI. These rates are above average based on the national scale. We also provide parking passes for training and for the student interviews. Many of the training and debriefing sessions will have snacks or food provided.

Being an SPI sounds like easy money. Can anyone do it?
No—being an SPI is hard work. Below is a list of expectations for our SPIs.
SPIs should:

• Be comfortable with their health and dealing with health professionals.
• Be willing to be videotaped for educational purposes.
• Not have any biases against anyone based on their gender, race, religion, national origin, physical characteristics, etc.
• Be reliable and punctual to scheduled events.
• Keep all case information confidential.
• Repeatedly portray a patient case with accuracy as trained by U of M faculty or staff.
• Remember what the student who examined you did and then record it on a checklist.
• Have strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Want to contribute to the training process of excellent physicians.

I'm still interested. What do I do next?
Call the Standardized Patient Program office at 734-615-2992 or click on Request an Application. Once we have received your request, we will send you an application. We then match patient cases with SPIs using such criteria as age, gender, etc. If we do not use you right away we will keep your information on file for the future and will contact you if there is an opening for a case matching your profile.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Standardized Patient Program

What is a Standardized Patient? A standardized patient or SP is an individual trained to portray a specific patient case in a consistent manner. During an interaction with a student, the SP presents the case history in response to questioning by the student and/or undergoes physical examinations at the student's direction. Each SP encounter is designed to assess skills appropriate to both the SP’s and the student's level of training.

What is a Standardized Patient Instructor? A Standardized Patient Instructor (SPI) holds the same responsibilities of learning the role and evaluating the students’ performance as does the Standardized Patient, but adds a piece by providing constructive feedback from the patient’s point of view.

How is this different from acting? This work has nothing to do with finding dramatic moments or playing to an audience. It has everything to do with disciplining yourself within the needs of the case and exam. It may be appropriate for you to appear anxious, irritable, or confused during an interview if that is part of the training scenario. When working as an SPI it is important that you portray the case the exactly the same way for every student who interviews you.

Do the medical students know we are not real patients? Yes, the students are aware that you are SPIs and are told to proceed just as they would with real patients while doing their interviews and physical examinations.

Why do you need Standardized Patient Instructors? I thought medical students learned on real patients? U of M students do work with real patients in supervised clinical experiences. However, SPIs provide a safe and controlled learning environment in preparation for a real patient encounter. A large number of students can consecutively interview an SPI and each time the SPI can behave as though it were the first time in the clinic for the same complaint. Thus, every student gets the chance to demonstrate his/her clinical skills in the same situation. It makes it a fair exam and learning experience for everyone.

How do I know what to say when the medical student interviews me? You will be carefully trained to portray a specific patient. You will learn the complete medical history, using your own history whenever possible. As the patient, you will be able to tell the student details about your life such as your work, family, and hobbies. You will be trained to portray the patient’s appropriate emotional state. For cases requiring a physical exam you will know how to move as that patient would and also simulate findings while being examined. You will also be trained to give feedback after being interviewed or examined, allowing the student to hear constructive feedback from the patient he/she just interviewed or examined.

Will I undergo a physical exam or have to remove my clothing? For patient cases that require no physical examination, SPIs wear street clothes. If the students are expected to perform a physical examination, you may be required to wear a hospital gown. The cases that require these physical examinations are clearly outlined for SPIs prior to their agreement to participate in them.

Is it safe? Yes. There is no reason for anyone to do anything that might be harmful. The examinations are very basic and do not cause any harm to the patient. All encounters are videotaped and most interactions are observed as they happen, in part for the safety and comfort of the SPI.

Do I have to decide whether or not the student passes? No. Part of your job as an SPI is to record the events of the encounters on a checklist for the purpose of scoring the students. You are also asked to give verbal and written feedback to the students on their interpersonal skills from your perspective as the patient. Faculty ultimately decides whether or not the student passed the exercise.

How much does the job pay? We pay $ 12.00 per hour for the training of cases and most cases start at $20.00 per hour for the actual interview. Some cases pay per student depending on the case and the involvement of the SPI. These rates are above average based on the national scale. We also provide parking passes for training and for the student interviews. Many of the training and debriefing sessions will have snacks or food provided.

Being an SPI sounds like easy money. Can anyone do it? No—being an SPI is hard work. Below is a list of expectations for our SPIs. SPIs should:
	• Be comfortable with their health and dealing with health professionals. • Be willing to be videotaped for educational purposes. • Not have any biases against anyone based on their gender, race, religion, national origin, physical characteristics, etc. • Be reliable and punctual to scheduled events. • Keep all case information confidential. • Repeatedly portray a patient case with accuracy as trained by U of M faculty or staff. • Remember what the student who examined you did and then record it on a checklist. • Have strong written and verbal communication skills. • Want to contribute to the training process of excellent physicians.

I'm still interested. What do I do next? Call the Standardized Patient Program office at 734-615-2992 or click on Request an Application. Once we have received your request, we will send you an application. We then match patient cases with SPIs using such criteria as age, gender, etc. If we do not use you right away we will keep your information on file for the future and will contact you if there is an opening for a case matching your profile.